“LMS is a common ask today from many HR leaders. The need to simplify the process and improve upon traditional learning methods is greatly felt in the hybrid world of work. LMS can also save an organisation’s time and money by ensuring the easy administration of large amounts of learning/information in a user-friendly, web-based environment,” said S. R. Saravanakkumar, Vice President - Global SI & Partnerships & Business Head – Asia Pacific, Adrenalin eSystems Limited, speaking about the shifts in learning systems needed to tackle new business priorities.

With the rise of hybrid working conditions, companies are increasingly approaching learning as a fully blended experience, one with a virtual component at its core. For companies shifting to a hybrid work model, blended learning brings with it a host of different approaches to skilling, all meant to help a physically distributed workforce help complete their learning pathways cohesively.

Rise of Blended Learning

The Asia Pacific region is one of the fastest developing regions in the world when it comes to adopting digital learning technologies and contributes to over 32 percent of the total global e-learning market’s growth. Fuelled both by the fact that half of all internet users in the world hail from the APAC region, many of which are smartphone-first, and with the growing size of the digitally literate working population, the region has seen many companies scaling their digital capabilities to ensure their traditional learning modalities are blended with digital tools. It comes as little surprise then, that according to a report by Graphical Research, the Asia Pacific e-learning market size will be around USD 90 billion by 2026. The increasing need for efficient learning programs to provide skill-based training to employees in the corporate sector is driving the adoption of online & mobile learning.

The report notes organizations are increasingly adopting personalized learning solutions as they help them create courseware and procure courses that are unique to their employees’ needs.

Speaking of the rise in the demand for learning technology, Saravanakkumar noted that “LMS is in high demand and many of our clients have opted for this module, especially during the past 1.5 years. The LMS app is a great support to businesses, enabling them to plan, execute, and assess their learning processes.”

Finding the Right Learning Mix

By combining personalised video lessons and classes that employees can complete on their own with synchronous and real-time webinars and in-person workshops, HR professionals help create learning opportunities tailored to meet employee demands and business requirements.

A LMS that looks beyond simple, tick-in-the-box digital solutions. Blended learning provides HR professionals with the following advantages:

Is Accessible: Blended learning is a perfect fit for a hybrid workforce as its tools and techniques remain site agnostic. What this means is whether employees are working from the office or choose to work remotely, learning remains impactful. With blended learning, access is seamless and readily available.  It is more flexible than simply using synchronous learning alone, giving the learner more control about when to fit learning into the rest of their schedule.

Is Inclusive: As hybrid work becomes more prevalent, companies need a system of learning that can be helpful to a wide variety of learners. With blended learning, HR professionals can help leverage a multitude of learning tools to impart learning through videos, audio lessons, virtual task-based activities etc . Learning programs can also be customized to an individual’s learning needs by leveraging personalised assessments and learning recommendations.

Offers better control: It allows HR professionals to deliver the right content in the right format. Some content is better delivered over webinars while some require personalised formats delivered in-person through apps and videos, at their time. By building blended programs, formats and platforms, companies can deliver different components of their learning programs across a hybrid workforce with better efficiency.

Improves collaboration: By using LMS’ that support blended learning, one can make participants work together, engage in discussions, and provide feedback with each other. Thus enabling companies help boost engagement and collaboration within employees, teams, and even different departments. It can also be used to motivate employees, which leads to much better learning outcomes.

The advent of the pandemic has reshuffled organizational priorities and their way of functioning. Hybrid workplaces are becoming a norm rather than an exception. For many companies, however, this rise of hybrid work has meant redesigning existing L&D programs. While many have begun using virtual systems—from classrooms to seminars — today, companies require a stable learning intervention that meets the needs of remote workers and those working from the office, alike. It is here that many have begun leveraging blended learning techniques to ensure companies remain future-ready for skills change.

This article was first published in People Matters.